Apparatus for the treatment of exhaust gases



April 1, 1969 EANNARmo ET AL APPARATUS FOR Tf IHTliiEATMENT 0F EXHAUST GASES I l of 4 Sheet I Filed Aug.

INVENTORS %%m mz ANIERl J2.

ATTORNEVS April 1, 1969 J. M. EANNARINO E 3,435,513

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF EXHAUST GASES Sheet of 4 Filed Aug. 7, 1967 FIG. 4

JQSEW M. EANNAIIQYIENOTORS & Maw/an S. GRANIERUJR.

, ATTORNEYS J. M. EANNARINO ET AL 3,435,613

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF EXHAUST GASES April 1, 1969 Filed Aug. 7, 1967 M M a 8 \l 0c moi m. NN-P- P ,0. B 3 VR A. AM s We v E w J as I N En .L E m m WW. w Q! 3 E h n VL U 5 iv k J G \H fi \V (((W (V N auma M m c d vfl I N v @HMWZ w QQ L H M. 0Q 9Q Qt N wk 3 v9 N @G L N J. M. EANNARINO ET AL April 1, 1969 3,435,613

APPARATUS [FOR THE TREATMENT OF EXHAUST GASES Sheet Filed Aug. 7, 1967 INVENTORS MAR NO Farm J$EPH M. EAN & MICHAEL $.GRANIERI, JR.

United States Patent 3,435,613 APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF EXHAUST GASES Joseph M. Eannarino and Michael S. Granieri, In, Rome,

N.Y., assignors to Tri-Sciences Industries, Inc., Utica,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 658,718 Int. Cl. F01n 3/14 US. C]. 6030 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for the treatment of exhaust gases from a combustion engine in which the improvement is characterized by a thermally isolated firing chamber for the burning of exhaust gases with the introduction of supplemental combustion supporting air and the location of bafiles at the entrance and the outlet of said firing chamberto insure a rapid rise to operating temperature and an assembly of annular passages around said firing chamber to effect efi'icient transfer of heat from exhaust gases to incoming combustion supporting air.

This invention relates to apparatus for the treatment of exhaust gases.

Devices of the general nature of that to be disclosed for the treatment of exhaust gases from internal combustion engines are shown in the following patents: Boyd et al., 1,848,990, Mar. 8, 1932; Tietig, 2,005,249, June 18, 1935; Fogas, 2,065,681, Dec. 29, 1936; Uhri et 211., 2,203,554, June 4, 1940; Eannarino et al., 3,285,709, Nov. 15, 1966.

The present invention is an improvement on the previous art in the location and relative positioning of flow bafiles in combination with a heat exchange system which insures maximum efiiciency within the combustion chamber coupled with minimum temperature at the exterior walls. In addition, the unit serves as a combined muffler and exhaust control.

One of the problems in devices of this kind is to get -a unit up to an efiicient temperature rapidly to avoid atmospheric contamination. Another problem is to prevent fiame-out, that is, the projection of flames out of the final exhaust opening to atmosphere. The present device is directed to solving these problems as well as providing minimum back pressure to avoid decreasing the efiiciency of the engine.

Briefly, the present invention involves providing a thermally floating central combustion chamber which isolates the hottet portion of the unit from the remaining portion to prevent conduction of heat and the invention also contemplates a heat exchange system which affects the maximum amount of cooling of the outer portions of the unit with a maximum amount of heat exchange to the incoming air which is mixing with the exhaust gases.

These features and others will be further described in the following description and claims in which there is set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention showing the principle of operation and details of construction.

Drawings accompany the disclosure and the various views thereof may be briefly described as:

FIGURE 1, a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the unit showing the relative location of the parts.

FIGURE 2, a plan view of the central core unit of FIGURE 1 constituting the firing chamber.

FIGURE 3, a partial section on line 33 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4, an end view of FIGURE 1 from the left.

FIGURE 5, a sectional view on line 5 of FIG- URE 1.

3,435,613 Patented Apr. 1, 1969 FIGURE 6, a longitudinal section of a modified embodiment with a difierent arrangement of inlet and outlet passages.

FIGURE 7, a sectional view on line 7--7 of FIG- URE 6.

FIGURE 8, an end view of the embodiment in FIG- URE 6 from the right end.

FIGURE 9, a sectional view on line 99 of FIG- URE 6.

FIGURE 10, a sectional view on line 1010 of FIG- URE 6.

Referring to the drawings:

In FIGURE 1, there is shown a unit having an inlet pipe 40 and an outlet pipe 42. Each of these pipes has a suitable flange for joining it with an internal combustion engine at the one end and an exhaust tailpipe at the other end. Between these two pipes is an outer housing 44 which consists of a substantially cylindrical outer shell 46 having end walls 48 and 50, the end walls being apertured to receive the respective pipes 40 and 42 and welded thereto. The inner wall of the shell 44 is preferably provided with a layer of insulation 52 such as a ceramic coating or the equivalent. A second shell 54 formed of ceramic inside the first shell has a substantially cylindrical wall 56 and at the left-hand end an apertured wall 58 which again is supported on the pipe 40.

At the right-hand end of the shell 54 there is an end wall 60 which is provided with 'a plurality of four to six apertures 62 through which projects short tubes 64 (see FIGURE 5). The wall 60 is also supported on the inner end of the pipe 42. The tubes 64 terminate in a wall 66 which is apertured to receive the tubes and which receives support also from the pipe 42. The wall 66 provides an end wall for a third substantially cylindrical shell 68. The shell 54 is preferably formed of a ceramic material which has a low heat conductivity but may also be formed with a metal core having a ceramic coating on each side. The shell 68 is preferably a metal shell having good thermal conductivity. This shell 68 terminates in an end wall 70 supported on the inner end of pipe 40 in a manner later described. Also mounted inside the Wall 70 on pipe 40 is a short nozzle section 72 which has a substantially cylindrical portion extending axially from a supporting end wall 71 and tapering down into what may be referred to as a venturi opening 74.

This is a molded ceramic unit which is an integral part of the larger firing chamber shell formed of ceramic material having a low heat conductivity and open at each end. The left-hand end carries a truncated cone-like shell 82 supported interiorly of the left-hand end of the shell having walls extending parallel to the tapering inlet 72. The left-hand end of the shell 80 is supported by the wall 71 and has radial extension 84 which are spaced around the periphery of the shell 82 and abut against the walls 90. The right-hand end of shell 80 has a plurality of short connectors 86 which join the wall of shell 80 with an intermediate shell 90, the shell 90 being formed of a conductive material and being supported inside the shell '68 by a plurality of short connectors 92. The left-hand end of the shell 90 is also supported by the extensions 84 which are circumferentially distributed around the shell 80. The shell 90 is closed by an end disc 94 which lies parallel to but spaced from the plate 66.

Two flow cones 9'6 and 98 are also supported within and preferably integral with the shell 80. The first one has its apex at the truncation plane of the two conical shells 72 and 82 and is supported by four bracket arms 100 extending from septum walls between the nozzle 72 and the core 82. It will be noted that the outer edges of the cone 96 are concentric with but spaced from the 3 inner wall of the shell 80. The cone 98 is positioned at the left-hand end of shell 80 having its apex well within the shell and the base extending beyond the shell and supported by a plurality of extension brackets 102. The base of the cone 98 is spaced from the end wall 94.

At the top left-hand portion of the drawing of FIG- URE 1, there is a supplemental air inlet 104 which connects with the space between the outer shell 46 and the inner shell 54. Air to support combustion will be introduced into this opening under pressure from an air pump driven by the internal combustion engine. This pump preferably has a volume of 80 lbs. per hour at a pressure range of to lbs. per square inch for an average passenger car engine.

It will be seen, therefore, that the inner ceramic shell 80 is thermally insulated from the entire system, it being preferable that the supports 86 and the extensions 84 are of non-conductive material such as a ceramic material which has a high heat resistance. It is preferable also that the nozzle 72 and the cones 96 and 98, together with the brackets 100, be formed of a non-conductive material such as a ceramic.

In the operation of the device shown in FIGURE 1, it will be seen that exhaust gases from the engine manifold enter the tube 40 and pass into the venturi nozzle 72 which has a restricted opening 74. At this point the exhaust gases mix with air which is introduced into the system through the tube 104 and which passes through the annular chamber 110 flowing to the right as viewed in the drawing and then radially inward at the end panel 50 where it reaches the apertures 62 through tubes 64 and passes to the left through the annular opening 112 where it reaches openings adjacent extension 84 and passes through the openings to an arcuate chamber 114 at the top and bottom of the unit and from these arcuate chambers into a tapering venturi passage 116 leading to the interior chamber 120 directly adjacent the opening 74. The cone 96 causes the exhaust gases and the introduced air to mix intimately and pass through an annular opening 122 at the base of the cone adjacent the interior wall 80 which forms the firing chamber. An igniting device 124 is positioned just downstream of the cone 96 to ignite the entering gases and cause a burning of all combustibles.

The burning gases flow down the chamber 120 to the baffie cone 98 at the end of the chamber and pass around this cone to a space 126 just inside of wall 94. The gases then reverse and pass through an annular chamber 128 to the left where they reach arcuate passages 127 in wall 70 spaced circumferentially between chambers 114 (see FIGURE 3) leading to an end chamber 130. These arcuate passages each occupy about 90 and are spaced between the passages 114. Combustion gases then move from the flat chamber 130 to an annular chamber 132 to the right and around the tubes 64 to an end chamber 134 leading to the outlet tube 42.

It will thus be seen that the entering air through tube 104 will cool the outer shell of the unit and when it reaches the passage 112, it -will receive heat both from passage 128 and passage 132 lying on either side. Thus, the incoming air will be heated toward combustion temperature so that it will mix well with the exhaust gases and create an efficient action. This also permits the unit to rise to an eflicient temperature rather rapidly. As previously indicated, it is important that the chamber 120 be thermally isolated as much as possible from the remainder of the unit and thus it is preferably made of ceramic material which has a low heat conductivity and is so mounted that this objective is obtained.

' In FIGURES 6 to 10, a modification of the device is shown utilizing somewhat the same principles but having a modified flow path. In this system an input tube 150 is mounted in an end wall 152 which closes one end of an outer housing shell 154, the other end being closed by an end plate 156 in which is mounted an air input tube 4 158. The cylindrical wall 154 and the end walls 152 and 15.6 are preferably coated on the inside with a ceramic insulation material. At the left-hand end, a second end wall 160 is perforated to receive support from the inner end of the tube and this wall also carries a conical flow director 162 having a venturi opening 164.

A second interior cylindrical wall 166 is supported by end wall at the left-hand end and terminates with an end wall 168 at the right-hand end, this chamber being supported by suitable spaced supporting elements 170 distributed around the periphery in a way not to interfere with the flow in the chamber 172 formed between the shell 154 and 166. A third cylindrical wall 174 is supported at the left-hand end also on end panel 160 along with a fourth cylindrical wall 176 which may be integral with the end panel. At the right-hand end wall 174 is supported by elements 178 and wall 176 is supported by elements 180, these being circumferentially distributed in a manner not to interfere with the flow in the chamber 182 between shells 166 and 174 and chamber 192 between shells 174 and 176. A final interior wall 194 for a firing chamber is supported at the righthand end by an annular ring 196 carried by the wall 174 and the supporting elements 178. This annular ring is spaced to the right of the end of shell 176 to permit a flow condition to be described. The other end of the shell 194 is supported on the outer walls of the cone 162 which has septum walls to support also a short conical element 198 parallel the cone 162.

Axially extending brackets 200 support a cone flow director 202 having its apex at the venturi opening 164, these brackets being mounted on the outside of the cone element 198. At the other end of the assembly a fairly large cone baflie 204 is supported by axially extending brackets 206 connected to the annular disc 196. An outlet tube 210 for exhaust gases passes through the outer wall 154 and connects into an opening in wall 166. A suitable firing element in the form of a plug 212 and a ground element 214 is mounted in the outer wall 154 in a recess in a support insert 216.

In order to achieve a thermally insulated firing chamber, it is important that a number of the elements be formed of a material which has a very low heat conductivity. In this connection, the wall 194 is preferably a ceramic material as is the cone 202, the brackets 200, and the conical elements 162 and 198, as well as the secondary end wall 160. Similarly, the annular ring 196 is prefearably a ceramic material which can be formed at its outer rim to receive the end of the shell 174 in a suitable recess. The outer wall 154 has already been described as being provided with insulation and the same is true of wall 166 and wall 176 and the end walls 152, 156, and 168.

FIGURE 8 illustrates an end view of the embobiment of FIGURE 6 and in the sectional view of FIGURE 7 the arcuate passages 220 connect chamber 192 with the passage between the end plates 152 and 160, these being openings in the end wall 160.

In the operation of the device shown in FIGURE 6, the exhaust gases enter the inlet tube 150 and pass through the venturi 162 to the conical baflle 202 where they are intimately mixed with incoming air, the flow of which will be describedbelow. The inlet air fiow originates at the tube 168 and passes through the chamber 222 at the righthand end of the unit and around throughthe annular passage 172 to chamber 224. Here it passes through the arcuate slots 220 to the chamber 192 and flows to the right until it reaches the annular ring 196. The flow is then reversed along the outer wall of the firing chamber 194 and terminates at the conical element 198 where it mixes with inflowing gases which are intimately mixed with the air as they flow around the cone 202 to the firing chamber 230.

In this flow, it will be seen that the incoming air thus cools the outer shell and in passing through the passage 192 is preheated by the conductive wall 174 since outflowing gases are reaching the outlet 210 by flowing around the cone 204 to the chamber 182 leading to outlet 210.

It has been found that it is preferable that the area of the annular outlet between the conical ballle 204 and the wall 194 is preferably 75 to 85 percent of the area of the inlet and the area of each annulus, that is, each annular chamber in general, approximates the exhaust diameter of tube 150 and tube 210. The ignition is preferably positioned approximately /2 inch away from the baffle cone 202 in a low pressure area so that the ignition of the 'gases starts as soon as possible in the chamber 230. It is important as above described that the inner chamber 230 formed by the wall 194 be thermally insulated from the outer unit by the use of ceramics or other equivalent low heat conducting materials. This has the value of maintaining a high combusion temperature in the firing chamber and also preventing the heat from being conducted to the outside of the unit so that it will remain reasonably cool. Efiiciency of the unit has been found to be much superior when this thermal isolation is provided. It will be seen that each unit provides the function of a mufller as well as a device for fully burning the exhaust gases since the counterfiow passages serve the function of sound elimination.

When the word substantially cylindrical is used in the description and claims, it is intended to mean any configuration developed by a line moving parallel to a reference line in a defined path whether it be a circle, ellipse, or oval, etc. For example, a substantially cylindrical chamber can be either round or oval in cross-section, etc.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An apparatus for the treatment of exhaust gases which comprises:

(a) a substantially cylindrical firing chamber having an entrance at one end and an outlet at the other end,

(b) a conical baffle directly adjacent said entrance and providing an annular passage between the walls at the base thereof and the walls of the chamber,

(c) a conical baffle at the outlet providing an annular outlet passage in combination with the walls of said chamber,

(d) an aspirator venturi at the entrance of said chamber for admitting and mixing exhaust gases and combustion supporting air onto the apex of said first baifie,

(e) ignition means between said conical bafiies in said firing chamber, and

(f) a plurality of concentric chambers surrounding said :firing chamber thermally insulated therefrom but supported in relation thereto to provide an outlet passage for exhaust gases leaving said chamber and a separate passage for combustion supporting air extending concentrically around said firing chamber to create flow in reverse directions parallel to the axis of said chamber wherein there can be a heat exchange between said outlet passage and said passages containing said combustion supporting air.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which said firing chamber is formed of a ceramic material having a very low heat conductivity and supporting means for said chamber formed of materials of very low heat conductivity to thermally isolate said chamber from said concentric chambers.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 in which two concentric chambers provide an outlet passage for treated gases extending approximately the length of said firing chamber and in reverse directions so that exhaust gases from said chamber pass the length of said chamber twice before reaching an outlet, and means for forming two concentric chambers for carrying air to support combustion extending approximately the length of said firing chamber and having a flow in opposite directions prior to the introduction of said air into said firing chamber. t

4. A device as defined in claim 1 in which there are four concentric chambers formed outside said firing chamber extending substantially the length of said chamber, two of which create a reverse flow passage for exhaust gases passing from said firing chamber and two of which create a reverse flow passage for air introduced to support combustion, said exhaust gas passages and said air passages being spaced to create a heat interchange relationship.

5. A device as defined in claim 1 in which four concentric chambers are provided outside said firing chamber extending approximately the length of said firing chamber, three of said chambers, including one adjacent said firing chamber and one adjacent the outside surface of said device, being connected to an air inlet for combustion supporting air, and one of said chambers between two of said previously defined chambers, being connected between the outlet of said firing chamber and an outlet opening in said device for treated exhaust gases.

6. An apparatus for the treatment of exhaust gases which comprises:

(a) a substantially cylindrical container having cylindrical side walls and end walls closing said side walls,

(b) inlet and outlet tubes extending respectively through said end walls,

(c) a secondary end wall inside one of said end walls adjacent said inlet tube,

(d) a first venturi passage connected to said inlet tube and mounted on said secondary end wall,

(e) a second venturi passage concentric with said first venturi and also supported on said secondary end wall, said venturi passages having discharge outlets arranged concentrically,

(f) a first conical baffle having its apex at the center of said venturi outlets,

(g) a firing chamber extending between said inlets and said outlets between said end walls having cylindrical walls formed of a heat resistant material of very low heat conductivity supported at the inlet end of said apparatus on non-conductive material directly adjacent said secondary end wall and supported at the other end adjacent the outlet of said apparatus by non-conductive material, and

(h) a second conical bafile at the outlet end of said firing chamber having its apex extending toward the first conical baifie, and

(i) means forming a plurality of substantially cylindrical chambers between said firing chamber and the interior walls of said container providing annular reverse flow passages for exhaust gases flowing past said second conical baffle to said outlet and for combustion supporting air flowing from an air inlet to said second venturi passage, said annular flow chambers being disposed to permit heat exchange between said exhaust gases and said incoming air.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,848,990 3/1932 Boyd -30 3,285,709 11/1966 Eannarino 60-30 US. Cl. X.R.

DOUGLAS HART, Assistant Examiner. 

